Ross wanted to relive his youth or something similar, so we bravely walked to Paignton (and back again) from Torquay and I hadn’t given much thought to the lunch options. I had a look at Google Reviews and Henry’s Bar was very well reviewed and I was craving fish and chips, so I opted for that. I was surprised and delighted to discover that it’s the only pub in Paignton which is listed in the Good Beer Guide, so that’s another one ticked off.
It’s not a new venue, the Torbay Express wrote an article about the new venue in November 1984:
“The cheerful bright red of Henry’s Bar heralds a new type of place to eat and drink in Torbay.
This upmarket combination of wine bar plus traditional beer-selling free house is the idea of Mr Ray Shermon.
“It is a really nice place for people to meet friends,” says Mr Shermon of his bar in Paignton’s Torbay Road.
Henry’s Bar, with its wide variety of food and drink, is certainly family-fun. Mr Shermon’s wife, Gerry, daughter Maxine, 18, and James, 14, are all involved in the business.
Even the name – Henry’s Bar, has family connotations. Henry was the name of Mrs Shermon’s late father.
Mr Shermon is not new to the food and drink trade. He bought Henry’s Bar, then La Taverna, having sold The Patio Restaurant across the road.
He and his wife have run La Taverna since July, but, after a total refurbishment taking three weeks, the old restaurant is unrecognisable.
The colour, inside and out, is a welcoming red, with red cushioned seating round the walls and padded stools of various heights.
There is a curving bar, a traditional style of carpet and attractive touches such as old-style lighting, a fan and mirrors, not to mention modern central heating.
This, combined with unusual arches, makes for a smart but comfortable atmosphere in a bar which would be ideal as a starting place for a late night outing.
Mr Shermon, who opens in normal pub hours, is aiming for an all-year and not just seasonal trade, and Henry’s Bar should attract people not only in the evening, but also at lunchtimes.
“It is a place not only for youngsters, but for everybody,” says Mr Shermon.
Henry’s Bar serves a good range of drinks, beers, a variety of wines and spirits. Mr Shermon also has a number of coolers to offer, including peach, cherry and apricot flavours.
Food is served until half-an-hour from closing time, and there is certainly something for everyone on the menu.
There are basket meals including chicken, pot meals ranging from curry to beef stew, and Sunday lunchtimes would be a good time to visit Henry’s Bar.”
There was another article in 1987 which mentioned that Tetley’s Bitter was 60p a pint and Castlemaine 4X was 70p a pint, although they were special prices as there had been a refurbishment. Steak & kidney pie was available for £1.95, pizzas were from £1.75 and a jacket potato was 75p.
Later that year there the venue was put up for sale at an asking price of £395,000 which seems high to me, I’m not sure that they’d get much more than that now, nearly 40 years later.
The interior which I felt had plenty of character and atmosphere. It was relatively quiet when we visited, but I can imagine that this gets very busy during the warmer summer months. There seemed to be some party of dog owners when we visited, but the pub does welcome dogs but has some sensible rules about they shouldn’t bark, they shouldn’t be on seats and they shouldn’t disturb other customers, which is all very reasonable. Not that this stops some customers complaining when they’re told not to let their dog on the seating, which is a selfish thing to do in any regard in my view, but the venue responded professionally:
“I can only apologise for the way that this situation was handled. We do love the dogs visiting us, but you must appreciate, that not everyone does. That, coupled with the fact that we have just been re-upholstered, has made us request that all dogs “paws stay on the floors”. This signage is scattered throughout the pub, but obviously not on the front doors, as you have highlighted . I have arranged for a new sign to be placed here too.”
This is part of the reason why companies such as JD Wetherspoon just ban dogs entirely….
The beer selection, I’m not much of a fan of Doom Bar from Sharp’s Brewery, but it is a sort of local beer given that it’s from Cornwall. I went for the Sea Dog from Teignmouth Brewery, it was malty and smooth, rather agreeable. There’s normally a wider range than just two real ales, but it felt sufficient for a quiet weekday afternoon in February. The service was efficient, polite and prompt, so I felt that we were made welcome.
The fish and chips which was served with mushy peas, all nicely presented and at the appropriate temperature. The chips were firm on the exterior and fluffy on the interior, with the tartare sauce portion being generous (this is important to me, I have a slight obsession with tartare sauce and I can’t be doing with silly little pots). The batter was crispy and had a depth of flavour and the fish itself was of a reasonable quality, so all good.
I was very pleased with the whole arrangement given that the beer choice was reasonable, the food was rather lovely, the service was friendly and the environment was comfortable. And that was 100% of all Good Beer Guide pubs in Paignton visited in one go.
